VW Golf Bluemotion 1.6 TDI: First drive report

Eco-friendly cars are often grim, hair-shirted things that you suffer as penance for your emissions, even though they pump out less CO2 than their standard brethren. But the new VW Golf Bluemotion is none of that. It doesn’t look funny (it runs alloys and a lowered ride height), it’s not made of egg cartons inside (splash out £120 on leather wheel and gearknob for the full, plush Golf effect), yet it sneaks below 100g/km for free road tax, and promises 74.3mpg.

Even better, the new 2010 Golf 1.6 TDI Bluemotion offers start/stop tech, regen braking, sill extensions (plus those alloys and lower suspension for better aero) for just £785 more than a similarly trimmed standard S 1.6 TDI – and it offers 11.5mpg more than that car.